PolGeoNow's mission is tracking changes to the world's
countries, borders, and territories, whether it's happening formally on the books or
unofficially on the ground. When new countries appear, borders change,
and territorial disputes arise or are settled, you'll hear about it
here. With 2014 now concluded, here's our look back at the major
events of the year!

Not to be forgotten is the so-called "Islamic State", declared in June by the extremist rebels formerly known as the "Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham" (ISIS or ISIL). The group began seizing full control of populated territories in late 2013, and by the end of 2014 they controlled an enormous chunk of former Syria and Iraq. Claiming to be the modern "caliphate" (empire of all Muslims), the Islamic State is in some sense an independent country of its own, despite fierce objections from the international community and many of its own would-be "citizens".

Rebels in Nigeria and Libya attempted to piggyback on the Islamic State's success by speaking of "caliphates" and "emirates" (small kingdoms), but it remains to be seen how serious they are about formal independence. Meanwhile, a rebel independence claim in the Central African Republic fizzled out after the group's own leadership declined to endorse it. Though each serious in its own way, Greenpeace's declaration of a "Glacier Republic" in Chile, a U.S. man's quest to make his daughter a North African princess, and several symbolic independence declarations by Australian aboriginal peoples were all ignored completely in diplomatic circles.

Western Sahara saw no net change in its number of active recognitions, with Mauritius "withdrawing" recognition and Paraguay's recognition "suspended", but Kenya and Malawi apparently resuming theirs. Withdrawing or suspending recognition is a legal gray area, since recognition of a country (as opposed to a particular government of that country) is usually considered irrevocable. However, Tuvalu did something similar in 2014 as well, backpedaling on its 2011 recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (both of which claim independence from Georgia).

Disputed Territories on Land
The biggest change to the world's territorial disputes in 2014 was the creation of a major new disputed territory: Crimea. This region was universally recognized as part of Ukraine at the beginning of the year, but after a swift military campaign in March, it's now a territory administered by Russia and claimed by Ukraine.

In addition to Crimea, Russian president Vladimir Putin hinted at another new territorial dispute,
suggesting that all of eastern and southern Ukraine, which he referred
to by the historical term "Novorossiya" ("New Russia"), should really be part of his own country. Elsewhere, local disputes arose during the process of marking out the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, while Iraq and Iran agreed to put to rest a border dispute over the Shatt al-Arab river mouth.

Another notable development affected one of the world's more unique territorial disputes: landlocked Bolivia's assertion that Chile owes it land with a coastline - any land with a coastline (Bolivia claims no specific rightful border). In 2014, Bolivia took Chile to the International Court of Justice over the claim, and Chile appears to be cooperating, feeling that the facts are heavily in its favor. However, the verdict could take years to arrive.

As mentioned above in "Declarations of Independence", 2014 saw the seizure of major areas of Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria by rebel groups. Beyond those three cases, the next most-reported was perhaps Nigeria, where Boko Haram rebels made a spectacular resurgence after having lost territory they briefly controlled in 2013. The group now controls more territory than ever before, and is having a degree of success holding it against the Nigerian government.

Sea Borders and Claims
Jurisdiction over much of the world's oceans is still unresolved, with neighboring countries often disagreeing on where the lines fall between their respective waters, which include both territorial seas (a thin strip along the coast) and exclusive economic zones (EEZ; a much wider band where they have economic control but not full ownership). However, 2014 was a relatively big year for settling these maritime boundaries.

International law allows countries to claim rights to resources on the "continental shelf" well beyond the 200 nautical mile limit of their EEZs, and many countries were still in the process of doing so in 2014. Toward the end of the year, Greenland and its patron country Denmark made news by formally claiming a large area of seabed under the North Pole, in what will likely lead into a dispute between several arctic countries. Formal continental shelf claims were also filed by the Bahamas, Tonga, and Somalia, while Spain and France submitted claims connected to their outlying islands in the Atlantic.

The West African countries of Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone made a single joint submission of their claim to the UN, defining the seven countries' collective continental shelf without saying where the lines between each country's piece would be drawn. The UN commission that administers continental shelf claims stamped its final approval on a 2009 claim by Ghana and partial claims by Russia and Denmark.

What major political geography events will happen in 2015?
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